Carpet and floor sweeper having adjustable handle

ABSTRACT

A CARPET AND FLOORU SWEEPER HAS A SWEEPING HEAD, SHAFT AND HANDLE JOINED BY DETENT JOINTS FOR SETTING THE HEAD AND HANDLE AT VARIOUS ANGLES TO THE SHAFT. THE SWEEPING HEAD HAS A FLEXIBLE BLADE WITH SERRATED EDGE FOR COMBING A CARPET AND COLLECTING DEBRIS. THE HEAD IS PIVOTALLY JOINED TO A HINGE MEMBER OF THE JOINT AT THE SHAFT. AN ATTACHMENT FOR SWEEPING A HARD, SMOOTH FLOOR CAN BE ENGAGED ON THE BLADE OF THE SWEEPING HEAD. THE ATTACHMENT IS ONE SLOTTED BAR WITH A FELT BLADE EXTENDING OUTWARDLY OF ONE EDGE. A DIRECT PUSHER-PULLER IMPLEMENT HAVING A SHORT HANDLE AND A SHORT BLADE WITH SERRATED EDGE IS DETACHABLY CARRIED BY THE SHAFT OF THE SWEEPER.

1.. SHAW 3,624,855

CARPET AND FLOOR SWEEPER HAVING ADJUSTABLE HANDLE Dec. 7, 1971 2 Sheets-Shoot 1 IN VENTOR. LEONARD SHAW Filed March 4, 1970 Dec. 7, 1971 1.. SHAW -3,624,855

CARPET AND FLOOR SWEEPER HAVING ADJUSTABLE HANDLE Filed March 4, 1970 2 Shoots-Shoot 2 INVENTOR.

LEONARD SHAW United States Patent US. Cl. 118 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A carpet and floor sweeper has a sweeping head, shaft and handle joined by detent joints for setting the head and handle at various angles to the shaft. The sweeping head has a flexible blade with serrated edge for combing a carpet and collecting debris. The head is pivotally joined to a hinge member of the joint at the shaft. An attachment for sweeping a hard, smooth floor can be engaged on the blade of the sweeping head. The attachment is a slotted bar with a felt blade extending outwardly of one edge. A direct pusher-puller implement having a short handle and short blade with serrated edge is detachably carried by the shaft of the sweeper.

This invention concerns a broom adapted for sweeping rugs and carpets as well as smooth wood, linoleum and tile floors.

Conventional straw brooms and pushbrooms heretofore known have been primarily designed for use on smooth, hard floors. They are not well adapted for sweeping rugs and carpets because their straws or bristles quickly become clogged with hair, string and dust which are not easily removed. Also, it is very difficult or impossible to sweep parts of a carpet under furniture, with prior brooms. Conventional carpet sweepers have rotating brushes which suffer the same difficulties.

The present invention concerns an improved carpet and floor sweeper which is adapted for collecting sewing threads, strings, lint, dog and cat hairs, and clumps of dust. The dirt and debris collected will not clog the sweeper. According to the invention, the sweeper has a head and handle both hinged to an intermediate shaft. The head carries a flexible serrated plastic blade which effec tively combs a rug or carpet to collect loose dirt and debris of all kinds. The plastic blade will gather together loose rug nap and dust formations. It will not abrade the nap when used with necessary pressure to dislodge loose dirt. The sweeper will fluff up and nap of a carpet as it cleans. Due to the hinged or articulated construction the sweeper can clean efiiciently under furniture without requiring the user to stoop or bend down low. An attachment is provided for the head of the sweeper. This attachment holds a felt blade which can be used for cleaning a hard surface such as a floor made of wood, linoleum, vinyl, rubber or plastic tiles, and the like. An auxiliary dirt pusher or puller is removably mounted by clips on the sweeper for sweeping into a dustpan the dirt collected by the main sweeper with or without its attachment.

The invention will be explained in further detail in connection with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sweeper embodying the invention shown in use sweeping a carpet, but with auxiliary dirt pusher and felt head attachment omitted.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the sweeper With auxiliary dirt pusher shown in place on the handle.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on line 2A2A of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the sweeper with dirt pusher in place.

3,624,855 Patented Dec. 7, 1971 ice FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of parts of the sweeper, including head and attachment.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken through the attachment alone on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the sweeper head with attachment in place thereon.

FIG. 7 is a sectionalview similar to FIG. 5 but taken through the head and attachment on line 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of part of the sweeper showing a mode of operation.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of part of the auxiliary dirt pusher.

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of the head of the dirt pusher taken on line 1010 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of part of another sweeper showing an alternate handle joint.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of parts of the sweeper shown in FIG. 11.

Referring first to FIGS. 1-8, there is shown a broom or sweeper 10 comprising a head 20, handle 25 and intermediate shaft 30. The head includes an elongated, flat, flexible blade 32 formed with a serrated edge 34. The blade is made of a plastic material. Ridges 36 are formed on opposite sides of the blade to support attachment 40. The attachment is a rigid plastic bar formed with grooves 42, 44 in opposite edges. Groove 42 receives a felt strip or blade 46. Groove 44 receives the serrated edge of blade 32, and engages ridges 36 in side recesses 45 of groove 44. The blade 32 has a back formed with a centrally located hole 33 which receives shank of a bolt 48. The bolt engages an apertured flange 49 of a hinge member 51 of joint 50, and is secured in place by nut 52. Hinge member 51 is part of head 20. The head .20 is pivotally mounted by bolt 48 on hinge member 51.

This hinge member pivotally engages hinge member 54 which forms part of shaft 30. Hinge member 51 has a pair of spaced flexible, springy fingers 55 formed with serrated circular detents 56 facing outwardly; see FIG. 4. This hinge member is preferably made of spring steel.

Hinge member 54 at joint 50 has spaced fingers 58 formed with serrated, apertured detents 60 which engage apertured detents 56. A coil spring 62 is disposed between spring fingers 55. A cylindrical nut 64 extends axially through the holes in fingers 55, 58 and partially through spring 62. A bolt 70 secures nut 64 in place. This articulated joint structure permits head 20 to bend angularly to shaft 30 at joint 50. Hinge member 54 has a rectangular tubular structure. A pair of rods 72 are secured in hinge member 54 and extend rearwardly toward handle 25. The rods are held in spaced flaring position by a disk 74. Rear bent ends 71 of the rods are formed with apertured fingers 73 which are like fingers 58. These fingers form part of another hinged joint 75.

Handle 25 has a hinge member 76 formed with flexible, springy fingers 78 which engage between fingers 73. The fingers are formed with serrated abutments detents 56-, 60; see FIG. 2A. These detents are like detents 56 and 60 shown in FIG. 4. Coil spring 80 presses fingers 78 adjustably against fingers 73 to hold the handle and shank in different angular positions with respect to each other. Bolt 70' engages cylindrical nut 64 in spring 80.

An auxiliary dust pusher-puller or collector is detachably supported underneath shaft 30; see FIGS. 2, 3, 9, 10. This dust pusher has a rigid shaft 102 detachably engaged in spring clips 104, 106 mounted at the undersides of hinge member 54 and disk 74 respectively. The dust pusher has a head 20 formed with a flexible plastic blade 108. The blade has a serrated edge 110. Ridges 36' on opposite side will engage attachment 40. FIGS. 1, 3 and 8 illustrate ways in which the sweeper 10 operates. Handle 25 can be aligned axially with shaft 30. When the sweeper is pushed or pulled in direction D, lint, dust,

threads and other debris on carpet C will be engaged by the serrated edge of blade 32 and pulled backwardly to collect in a pile. The head 20 may assume the angular position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3. When a part of the carpet under an article of furniture is to be cleaned, the shaft 30 can be lowered to horizontal position shown in FIG. 3 and the handle 25 can be bent upwardly in the dotted line position of FIG. 3. The joint 50' is stiff enough so that the collected debris can be pulled rearwardly toward the handle end of the sweeper. Alternatively, the debris can be pushed forwardly. The dirt will not cling to head 20. Dirt or dust pusher 100 can be detached for gathering the collected dirt and debris into a dustpan (not shown). The dirt will not cling to head 20'.

When a smooth floor is to be swept, attachment 40 will be mounted on head 20 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The felt strip or blade 46 will effectively gather household dust and other dirt on the rug or floor. The attachment can then be transferred to the head 20' for sweeping the dirt into a dustpan.

FIG. 8 illustrates by solid and dotted lines the flexiblity of blade 32. This flexibility prevents the serrated edge from catching in the loops and nap of a rug or carpet. In addition, it provides the user with an indication of how much pressure is being applied to the carpet. The blade 32 will be applied with different pressures depending on the functions being performed. It can be used to raise the nap of a rug, to fiuif up the nap or to smooth it.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show parts of sweeper 10A provided with another joint 75' which can be used in place of joint 75 in sweeper 10 to secure handle 25' to the rods 72' of shaft 30 springy ends 71' of the rods terminate in a pair of apertured fingers 119 formed with inner serrated detents 120 which engage detents 123 at outer serrated sides of a single finger 125 formed at the end of handle 25'. Pins 124 extend axially outwardly of opposite sides of finger 125. Pins engage in holes 121 of finger 119. A coil spring 130 has hooked ends engaged in holes in adjacent ends 71 of rods 72' to hold detents 120 in contact with finger 125. This forms a stiff joint 75' which yieldably holds the handle 25' and shaft 30' at various angles to each other. Fingers 119, 125 serve as hinge members of joint 75.

In both sweepers 10 and 10A, a basic characteristic of the invention is its articulated structure which enables it to sweep effectively at various angles. The head 20 can always be disposed at a selected angle for optimum effect in collecting dirt and debris. This sweeper avoids the objection to conventional straw brooms and pushbrooms Where the dirt tends to cling to the bristles of the broom. Often only one stroke of the present sweeper over a rug, carpet or a hard surface floor will be sufficient to collect all sewing threads, line, string, animal hairs, and other debris which has dirtied the rug or floor.

The sweeper is safe to use on rugs and carpeting because it will not abrade the nap when used with necessary pressure to dislodge loose dirt. The sweeper is also useful for removing loose nap fibers which have become loosened from a rug or carpet due to shampooing or wear. The sweeper will also fluff up the nap as it cleans. The sweeper can also be used to smooth the nap by applying additional pressure thereon. The sweeper will collect dirt like long hairs and sewing threads which other types of cleaning devices cannot efiiciently remove.

Due to the springy, support of blade 32 at joints 50 and 75, vibration which normally occurs as the head 20 is pulled or pushed over a carpet, is effectively absorbed. In addition the springy, pivotable blade 32 yieldably engages the carpet so that loops and tufts are not broken during the sweeping operation. The pivotal support at bolt 48 allows pivoting of the head which is very useful in keeping blade in contact with floor even when sweeper is not held perpendicular to floor. The utility of the sweeper is further enhanced by use of attachment 40' which enables the sweeper to be used in cleaning floors 4 with hard, smooth surfaces. The attachment can be used on both the sweeper head 20 and on the head of the auxiliary dirt pusher 100.

The sweeper will be found to fulfill a long felt need for a household appliance which can be used to perform quickly, efficiently and easily cleaning functions which heretofore could only be performed by a number of different implements. Working parts of the sweeper such as head 20 and attachment 40 can readily be replaced when original parts become worn.

Although a limited number of embodiments of the invention have been described, it should be understood that they are only exemplary of ways in which the invention may be practiced. Many variations are possible. The specific descriptions of the structures set forth may be departed from without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sweeper comprising a sweeping head; a handle, an intermediate shaft; a first hinged joint adjustably connecting the head to one end of the shaft; and a second hinged joint adjustably connecting one end of the handle to the other end of the shaft; said head comprising a flexible blade having a serrated edge for collecting debris scattered about on a carpet, said first joint comprises a first hinge member pivotally connected to said blade at its center, a second hinge member secured to said one end of the shaft, and pivot means rotatably and adjustably joining the first and second hinge members so that the head can be positioned at 'various selected angles with respect to said shaft.

2. A sweeper as defined in claim 1, wherein said second joint comprises a third hinge member at the other end of said shaft; a fourth hinge member at said one end of the handle; and pivot means rotatably and adjustably joining the third and fourth hinge members to that the shaft and handle can be positioned at various selected angles with respect to each other.

3. A sweeper as defined in claim 2, further comprising an attachment for cleaning a floor having a smooth surface, said attachment comprising a bar having a slot in one lateral edge for engaging on said blade; and a felt blade extending outwardly of the opposite lateral edge of said bar.

4. A sweeper as defined in claim 1, further comprising spring clips secured to said shaft; and a dirt pusher detachably secured to said clips said dirt pusher comprising another flexible blade with serrated edge, said other blade being shorter than the first named flexible blade for pulling dirt collected by the sweeping head on a carpet into a dustpan.

5. A sweeper as defined in claim 4, further comprising an attachment for cleaning a floor having a smooth surface, said attachment comprising a slot in one lateral edge for engaging selectively on the blade of either one of the sweeping and dirt pusher heads; and a felt blade extending outwardly of the opposite lateral edge of said bar for gathering dirt collected on said floor into a dustpan.

6. A sweeper as defined in claim :1, further comprising an attachment for cleaning a floor having a smooth surface, said attachment comprising a bar having a slot in one lateral edge for engaging on said blade; and a felt blade extending outwardly of the opposite lateral edge of said bar.

7. A sweeper as defined in claim 1, wherein said first hinge member comprises a plate having a first pair of laterally spaced apertured spring fingers at one end formed with serarted detents; said second hinge member comprising a channel shaped member with a second pair of spaced apertured fingers formed with serrated, apertured second detents, respectively, abutting the detents of the first hinge member; said pivot means comprising a coil spring disposed between the first spring fingers and urging them apart into contact with said detents of the second fingers, and bolt means extending through the coil spring and all the spring fingers, whereby the first fingers rotate on said bolt means between the second fingers.

8. A sweeper as defined in claim 7, and wherein said second joint includes a third hinge member comprising a third pair of spaced apertured fingers at the other end of said shaft formed with third detents, a fourth hinge means comprises a fourth pair of spaced apertured spring fingers formed with fourth detents respectively abutting the detents of the third fingers, another coil spring disposed between -the fourth fingers and urging them apart into contact with the detents of the third fingers, and other bolt means extending through the other coil spring and the third and fourth fingers, whereby the fourth fingers rotate on said other bolt means between the third fingers.

9. A sweeper as defined in claim 7, and wherein said second joint includes a third member comprising a pair of spaced apertured springy rods formed with detents at ends thereof, a fourth hinge member comprises a fourth finger with detents on opposite sides, another coil spring disposed between ends of the rods urging them together, and pins extending laterally of the fourth finger and engaged rotatably in holes in the third detents, whereby the third detents rotate on said pins on opposite sides of said fourth finger.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,144,891 6/1915 Cannon 15-245 UX 1,268,734 6/1918 Lay 306-17 1,500,274 7/ 1924 Scarling 15-245 3,324,494 6/ 1967 Vo sbikian 15-105 3,340,556 9/1967 Allen 15-144R X 3,380,767 4/1968 Barth 15-144R X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,122,972 5/1956 France 15-118 487,209 6/1938 Great Britain 15-188 541,861 4/1956 Italy 15-144 R 249,346 4/1948 Switzerland 15-402 DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

